New Olive Way Starbucks: Is this the future?

A sign greets customers at the newly renovated Olive Way Starbucks in Seattle. (Amy Rolph/Seattlepi.com)

Welcome to the new face of Starbucks. Have a cup of coffee or, if it’s after 4 p.m., a glass of wine.

Starbucks unveiled a peek into the company’s aspirations when the renovated Olive Way store opened in Seattle this week. Customers who lined Monday morning bought coffee and pastries at the made-over cafe, which sports polished concrete floors, dark-wood finishes and eclectic furniture.

A logo on the exterior of the Olive Way Starbucks. (Amy Rolph/Seattlepi.com)

The cafe is a major step for Starbucks, a sign of things to come elsewhere in the chain. Soon other cafes will be sporting the same rustic touches as the company unrolls a massive redesign to create a more intimate space for customers.

Already, some stores in Seattle, including one on Queen Anne, are sporting the new look.

“We started in Seattle,” said Starbucks spokeswoman Stacey Krum.

The redesign is one more step in a series of moves to differentiate Starbucks from its competition, mainly lower-end options like Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s. Starbucks recently admitted it is instructing baristas to slow down while making drinks, an attempt to reclaim the feeling of an artisan cafe.

The Olive Way store is part coffee stop, part restaurant. After 4 p.m., a bar area opens up to serve beer and wine, and the cafe will also begin serving from an extended menu.

It’s not clear if that kind of expansion will happen at other cafes around the country.

“We’re going to see how it goes, see what our customers tell us,” Krum said.

The store is built to LEED certifications, meaning the building’s features are constructed from reused or recycled materials. Inside, the coffee bar was made from salvaged wood, and a large table in the seating area was made out of flooring from Garfield High School.

The exterior features a brick facade and a 16-foot sign inspired by Pike Place Market, the home of the first Starbucks.

The Olive Way cafe is the third Starbucks in Seattle to be revamped after the company’s 15th Street Coffee & Tea and Roy Street Coffee & Tea on Capitol Hill.

The Olive Way store is still branded as a Starbucks. Krum said the company took elements of the other two revamped locations, learning from customer feedback.

A barista serves drinks at the newly renovated Starbucks on Olive Way in Seattle. (Amy Rolph/Seattlepi.com)

A scene from the newly renovated Starbucks on Olive Way in Seattle. (Amy Rolph/Seattlepi.com)

A scene from the newly renovated Starbucks on Olive Way in Seattle. (Amy Rolph/Seattlepi.com)